The present invention relates to long term care beds and particularly to controls for long term care beds. More particularly, the present invention relates to a long term care bed including a bed deck supporting a mattress having a sleeping surface for carrying a long term care resident, the deck and mattress being movable relative to the floor so that the sleeping surface can be lowered to a position adjacent to the floor. The long term care bed also includes spaced-apart brake assemblies that can be simultaneously actuated by a single actuator, an ambulatory assist arm having a grip positioned to lie above the sleeping surface, and side rail extension members for extending the vertical coverage provided by the side rails.
Many hospital beds include a patient-support surface that can be raised and lowered relative to the floor. Adjusting the height of the patient-support surface allows both for maximizing the convenience of caregivers working at the hospital bed and for assisting the ingress and egress of patients to and from the patient-support surface. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,939 to Peck et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,940 to Tekulve et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,769 to Weismiller et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,562 to Borders et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,876 to Kirkland et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,972 to Adams et al., each of which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and each of which discloses a hospital bed or a stretcher having a patient-support surface that can be raised and lowered relative to the floor.
Hospital beds and stretchers are often provided with casters so that the bed can be moved or, particularly for stretchers, so that the stretcher and the resident can be transported. These devices are commonly provided with a caster braking system to prevent movement of the device when the caregiver wishes to keep the device stationary. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,682 to Edgerton, Jr., disclosing a patient-support device having casters and including a braking system for preventing movement of the device.
Hospital beds and stretchers are also typically provided with side guard rails to prevent movement of the patient past the sides of the sleeping surface. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,334 to Huck et al. and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,585,659 and 2,722,017 to Burst et al., each of which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and each of which discloses a patient-support device including side guard rails that extend upwardly past the sleeping surface a fixed distance above the patient-support surface.
Caregivers of long term care facilities work to improve the functional health, dignity, and independence of residents. Resident user profiles suggest that the typical long term care resident is a female around 80 years of age and very frail. The resident has deteriorating physical, mental, visual, and hearing capabilities. Mobility, flexibility, dexterity, and motor skills are significantly impaired. They can often suffer from depression and frustration due to a loss of independence and dignity. However, they strive to live a life that is as normal as possible and they typically appreciate any opportunity to be more independent.
What is needed is a long term care bed having a bed deck carrying a mattress having a sleeping surface that can be raised and lowered over a range of motion and minimizing the distance between the floor and the sleeping surface when the deck is in its lowest position. Such a bed will maximize the ease of ingress and egress of residents to and from the sleeping surface. The long term care bed should also include an effective braking system including a minimal number of parts to minimize the cost and potential for failure of the braking system. The brakes should be activated using a single actuator so that the caregiver does not need to waste time activating and deactivating individual brake assemblies spaced apart around the bed. The long term care bed should additionally be provided with an ambulatory assist arm having a grip positioned to lie above the sleeping surface and side rail extension members providing additional vertical coverage past the tops of the side rail for the resident resting on the sleeping surface.
In accordance with the present invention, a long term care bed is provided. The long term care bed includes a base frame resting on the floor. A plurality of casters is coupled to the base frame and the casters engage the floor. The plurality of casters includes a first caster and a second caster spaced apart from the first caster. A first brake assembly is coupled to the base frame adjacent to the first caster. The first brake assembly includes a pedestal movable between a releasing position spaced apart from the floor and a braking position engaging the floor. An actuator is coupled to the pedestal and is movable between a releasing position moving the pedestal to the releasing position and a braking position moving the pedestal to the braking position. A second brake assembly is coupled to the base frame adjacent to the second caster. The second brake assembly includes a pedestal movable between a releasing position spaced apart from the floor and a braking position engaging the floor.
A bar couples the second brake assembly to the first brake assembly. Thus, when the actuator is moved to the braking position, the pedestal of the first brake assembly moves to the braking position and the pedestal of the second brake assembly moves to the braking position. When the activator is moved to the releasing position, the pedestal of the first brake assembly moves to the releasing position and the pedestal of the second brake assembly moves to the releasing position.
In preferred embodiments, the long term care bed includes a base frame and an intermediate frame connected to the base frame by a parallelogram mechanism having spaced-apart and generally parallel first and second links. The first link has a first end pivotally coupled to the intermediate frame and a second end pivotally coupled to the base frame. The second link has a first end generally beneath the first end of the first link and pivotally coupled to the intermediate frame and a second end generally beneath the second end of the first link and pivotally coupled to the base frame. The distance that the sleeping surface is spaced apart from the floor is minimized when the intermediate frame is in the lowered position.
The long term care bed also includes an ambulatory assist arm for assisting residents with ingress to and egress from the sleeping surface. The bar is fixed to the intermediate frame and extends generally upwardly, terminating at a grip that is positioned to lie generally above the sleeping surface. The grip is conveniently positioned to provide the resident with a secure brace for supporting the resident's weight during ingress and egress to and from the sleeping surface. In addition, the position of the grip can easily be adjusted while the ambulatory assist arm is mounted to the bed and, if desired, the arm can be easily removed from and replaced onto the bed.
Hospital beds are commonly provided with side rails adjacent to the sides of the bed and extending upwardly past the sleeping surface. These side rails typically have an uppermost top bar and when the side rail is moved to its uppermost raised position, the top bar is a fixed distance above the deck. This distance is established to provide at least a minimum desired vertical coverage above the sleeping surface once a mattress is placed on the deck. However, the thicknesses of mattresses placed on the deck can vary. As a result, the height of the top bar above the deck must be sufficient to provide the minimum desired coverage even above the thickest anticipated mattress.
The present long term care bed, however, is provided with removable and replaceable side rail extensions that can be used to extend the vertical coverage of the side rails past the top bar of the side rail. As a result, the top bar of each side rail of the bed in accordance with the present invention can be limited so that the top bar extends past the sleeping surface only by a distance providing the minimum desired coverage above a thin mattress so that the side rail is shorter than conventional side rails. These shorter side rails provide residents with a more open and comfortable feel than taller side rails. At the same time, if a thicker mattress is placed on the deck, the side rail extension members can be coupled to the side rails so that the side rails together with the extension members provide the desired vertical coverage above the sleeping surface.
The long term care bed includes a drive assembly for moving the intermediate frame between the raised and lowered positions. Control buttons including caregiver control buttons and resident control buttons are coupled to the drive assembly so that activation of the control buttons causes activation of the drive assembly, moving the intermediate frame between the raised and lowered positions.
The control buttons are mounted to the side rails so that the resident control buttons face inwardly toward the deck of the bed and toward the resident and the caregiver control buttons face outwardly toward the caregiver. The resident control buttons are spaced-apart from the top of the side rail by a predetermined distance so that the resident's thumb is positioned adjacent to the resident control buttons when the resident's hand is comfortably resting on top of the side rail. The caregiver control buttons are spaced apart from the top of the side rail by a distance greater than the distance that the resident control buttons are spaced apart from the top of the side rail to minimize the inadvertent activation of the caregiver control buttons by the resident.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.